Written by Jamie CoccoWith Our Instructor and Professional Hair Stylist Sarah Blackmore

The Healthiest Hair while Living an Active Lifestyle

Is the frustration of having healthy looking hair and living an active lifestyle getting to you? Having great hair and an active lifestyle don’t have to be mutually exclusive. In this Community in Focus Article we interview Our Spinning, Barre, Tabata, and Outdoor Fit Camp Instructor and Professional Hair Stylist Sarah Blackmore from Salon Herdis in Northampton about how to find that perfect balance.

What do you do when you are told not to wash your hair every day, but life and fitness say otherwise? Client after client ask our Instructor and professional hair stylist questions like this all the time, and in this article, we give you insights into how to have the healthiest looking hair while living an active lifestyle.

Understanding your Hair

How often should you be washing your hair? This question is not a simple one, so we will first talk about how to target your hair by explaining the different types of hair and how to impact it the most. Breaking it down further there are different types of density thin, medium, and thick. That is the amount of hair that you have on your head. Then we look at hair types, which is fine, medium, and coarse. Essentially you could have a combination of any density with any type such as medium fine.

Knowing your hair type matters

How do you know what combination you have? Hold one strand of hair in between your fingers, if you can’t feel that hair, you have fine hair, if you can feel the hair, then you have coarse hair, and if it is somewhere in between, where you say to yourself that you can kinda feel it, you have medium hair. It is important to know your hair type to help determine the right shampoos, conditioners, and styling products for your hair.

How often do we really have to wash our hair?

Sarah recommends if you are someone who washes your hair every day that a person moves to washing their hair every other day and to use a dry shampoo on the non-washing day. Why is it better to not wash your hair every day? Your body produces natural oils, and those oils protect your hair from outside elements. If you wash your hair every day, you are stripping your hair of that natural protection. Your body will then be forced to produce more oils to compensate for every day hair washing. When you begin washing your hair every other day, you may feel like a grease ball. It’s that feeling when you take your hair tie out and your hair is frozen in place. If you have gone that far, the only thing that will help is washing your hair, but for everything in between, its ok, because dry shampoo exists.

Pro Tip: Washing your hair 3x per week is ideal.

The miracle known as dry shampoo

In the 1940s a miracle happened. Milk was 34 cents per gallon, 8 cents for a loaf of bread, and dry shampoo was born. Dry shampoo is a powder spray that when sprayed at your root absorbs oils and extends your style by up to two days. So, if you are like me, you may ask, how do I use dry shampoo?

Shake the can

Hold the can 4″-6″ away from your head

Spray in sections around your head focusing at the root

Brush through for even distribution of the product

Don’t worry men, you aren’t completely left out, the right hair tie may not be right for you, but you can use dry shampoo too and get the same results as women.

Pro Tip: If you have held it in a spot too long and a white powder circle has formed, take your blow drier out and blow dry that section to boost the absorption of the product.

The best hair tie for your active life

Not all hair ties are created equal, and in this section, we talk about the hair tie that will make a world of difference for your style. Let’s be honest, we have all used the black tie and you probably even have one on your wrist right now and yes, they work great. They hold your hair back, but when you must take your hair out, you have that annoying pony tail crease left behind. And when we are avoiding washing our hair every day, that pony tail crease makes it that much harder.

Sarah says the Goomee hair tie, shown in the picture, doesn’t leave any mark in her hair, holds her hair in place through her entire workout, so she doesn’t have to constantly fix her hair throughout, and she works out hard. It doesn’t cause breakage, and easily shrinks back down to size when you put it in hot water. Sarah can put her hair up in a pony tail with one of these and at the end of the workout when she takes the hair tie out, voila, her hairstyle looks the same as when she started. #mindblown.

Pro Tip: Never put your hair up in a pony tail when your it is wet. Your hair has more elasticity when your hair is wet then when it is dry, and as it dries, it can snap causing that pesky breakage right around your face.

Bringing it all together

It is not healthy for your hair to wash it every day. It is ok to not wash your hair after exercise, and for you, dry shampoo will be your best friend. Not the best friend you stay up all night having heart to hearts with while watching the Golden Girls, but close to that. Washing your hair every other day is key and when aiming to keep your hair style looking its best through a workout, using a Goomee hair tie instead of your old friend the black hair tie will be a game changer. In the next article we will dive into what hair products work best for your hair type and lifestyle. Thanks for reading this article and drop in a comment about what you want to hear in our future healthy hair articles for the active woman.